Bamba ready to make Hibs cup quarter-final

Fears over the big defender's fitness arose after he suffered a shoulder injury and was forced off after less than half an hour as Hibs ended their winless run with a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock.

But the Ivory Coast internationalist has been receiving intense treatment since and, although he is still suffering a little pain, he'll train today with his team-mates, as will Moroccan playmaker Merouane Zemmama.

As, if Hughes hopes, the pair come through with no ill-effects, it will leave the Easter Road boss with a full squad available other than forward Alan Gow, who is expected to be out for the next two to three weeks having sustained a hamstring injury in the Killie match.

Having already described Saturday's match (kick-off 2pm) as Hibs' biggest of the season, Hughes believes 25-year-old Bamba could play a vital role in nullifying County's aerial threat having pinpointed the deliver of former Livingston player Richard Brittain as a danger.

Hughes, who has built up a detailed dossier on the First Division promotion hopefuls, said: "They have fantastic delivery from Brittain, great crosses from free-kicks, corners and so on, he's brilliant at it so the big physical presence of Sol in there would be good for us. Although he's still getting a bit of pain from the shoulder, he's now getting a good range of movement, so hopefully both he and Zouma will be fit.

"There's no point shying away from it, we all know the importance of the match. The players rested up Monday, have trained the last two days, will do so again today and tomorrow and they'll be ready to go."